HARRY STYLES
Four Years & Eight Months Ago
"She's so small," I tried not to laugh so I wouldn't disturb our newborn baby as she slept like a rock in my arms. Her little nose kept twitching and her lips would randomly purse, but other than that, she was so still that I was a bit worried she wasn't breathing at all.
"She is," Allison smiled from the hospital bed, resting her head on the two pillows underneath it. "She's so beautiful."
I nodded and inspected every single inch of her face. She had only been alive for a few hours at that point so it was difficult to know exactly what she was going to look like, but I sent my mum pictures and she swore that she looked just like I did when I was a newborn. I was honestly just having a hard time believing that she was finally here with us. Nine months is a long enough time to feel like forever until it's over, I guess.
"Are you nervous at all?" Allison asked.
In a way, I was petrified. As a perfectionist, I was struggling to come to terms with the idea that I was absolutely, without a doubt, going to mess up as a parent in one way or another. I also knew that I wasn't going to be able to control our child at all times. It was going to be a lesson in learning how to roll with the punches, and I was never good at that.
"I think I'm more excited," I smiled a little as I pictured having conversations with her when she was old enough. I wanted to know what her personality was going to be like and what her voice would sound like.
"Me too," Allison whispered and I looked up to see a tear slipping out from the outer corner of her eye.
"What's wrong?"
She shook her head. "I'm so happy."
My expression relaxed as I nodded in agreement. "Me too."
"And I love you," she sniffled.
I smiled then, standing from my chair to very carefully maneuver Jane into her arms so I could lie down on the wide bed with her. With my head on her shoulder, both of us staring at the little life we created together, I had never felt so much love for two people before, and I was so excited for the three of us to live our lives together. This was everything I wasn't sure I wanted until I had it, and then it was just simply everything.
***
"Mr. Styles? Still with me?"
I tear my gaze away from the sterling silver framed photo of Mr. Wang holding Maya as an infant on his desk. "Sorry, could you repeat the question?"
"I asked if you could describe your situation to me," he says. "Maya told me a bit, but...I'm afraid she tends to ramble and she got very passionate about it."
"Oh, right," I shift in my seat across from him, trying to focus when the view from his corner office is quite impressive. I've never seen New York City like this before. "My ex-girlfriend is taking me to court to try and get sole custody of our four-year-old daughter because she's upset that I'm dating...I mean...that I was dating the nanny we hired together."
"Lana," he surmises.
"Yes," I nod, forgetting that he obviously knew that if Maya explained the whole thing to him. "In no way, shape, or form were Allison and I together at that point. I had already moved out into my own flat. This was after she confessed to cheating on me for four months while we were still a couple and still living together."
"Mm," his thick black brows furrow together as he holds his fingers to his lips, resting his elbow on the arm of his quilted leather chair. "So she's using custody to try and get even for you moving on with someone else."
